Even though we have entered 2022, the pandemic is continuing to be a big challenge to deal with for most sectors, especially for events.
Events play a primary role in brand marketing as it gives brands a platform to interact and connect with their potential customers along with spreading awareness of their products or services.
During the past two years, virtual events have picked up the pace and have become a trending phenomenon, replacing the traditional way of hosting events. However, virtual events require more rigorous planning and execution since they are attended by attendees from the comfort of their homes.
Audience engagement plays an important role as it reflects how interested the audience is and how likely they are to attend the event until the end. This post will give you an insight into the different ways in which you can ensure complete virtual event engagement.
Tips & Practices To Increase Audience Engagement In Virtual Events
Make The Event Interactive
Let’s face it, nobody likes to just sit through an entire event without giving input or speaking to people they share thoughts with. Always make sure that your speakers are in sync with your audience and keep taking audience questions and input from time to time. Not only will this make them more alert and active throughout the event, but they will also take a keen interest in listening to the speaker more carefully.
Additionally, you can initiate a conversation with the attendees when they are in the virtual waiting room. You can urge them to give a brief introduction of themselves that would break the ice between them.
Another good option is to host a group discussion around the theme of the event. For instance, if the event is about a product launch then you can take their views on the related challenges and how introducing the product could bring a positive change. This would push the attendees to be more open and interact more with each other.
Include A Virtual Photo Booth
Undeniably, one thing that the attendees look forward to while attending events is taking photos. Even though it may seem quite impossible in the case of a virtual event, there are several platforms that enable virtual event professionals to create a virtual setup for the attendees to take their pictures.
Event marketers can add customized virtual backgrounds, stickers, or filters related to the event to interest the audience and engage them even more. You could even suggest people share them on social media with an event-specific hashtag to take it one step further.
Hire Entertainment
Including entertainers and artists during the virtual event is a great move to keep your audience enthralled by their acts. You can include entertainment depending on the scale of your event.
Sketch artists or illustrators can keep the audience entertained by sketching along with the session.
For a more grand event, you can invite renowned stand-up comedians or magicians to woo the audience with their tricks. You can also host a small DJ jam session in between breaks to make the environment more lively and to engage the audience.
Incorporate A Social Media Wall
Another great way to keep your audience engaged throughout the event is to include a social media wall. Quite like the name suggests, a social media wall is a collection of social media content from various social media networks like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Social media has become an integral part of everyday life with people spending more than 2 hours a day daily on the platform. Your audience may be intrigued by your event and post content in various forms on their social media handles using your event’s hashtag.
Furthermore, aggregating and embedding social media content in the form of a social media wall is a great way to keep your audience engaged. Your attendees will get excited to be featured which would urge and motivate the other attendees to also participate and get engaged!
Final Thoughts
Virtual or non-virtual, audience engagement is directly related to the success of your event. Hence, it is crucial that event organizers include the correct strategies to improve on this aspect while hosting events.
Include these tips and practices in your upcoming virtual event and you will be amazed to see how interested and engaged your audience is throughout the event.